July 21, 2012

The All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) is a collection of organizations and schools in the Adirondacks and surrounding areas dedicated to surveying the diversity of biotic life we have in the region. To this end, each year ATBI surveys a portion of the park, and this past weekend ATBI took on the Village of Saranac Lake and its immediate vicinity. Such an event is called a bioblitz.

ESF Students ATBI Lake Colby
Students from SUNY-ESF working for the summer in Newcomb helped survey a variety of species in and around Saranac Lake. Here they look for birds from the railroad tracks along Lake Colby.
Volunteer naturalists across the region and beyond descended upon Saranac Lake to offer their expertise as an attempt was made to catalog all living organisms around the village in two days. This quick assessment of biodiversity is coupled with public outreach, and the public library in Saranac Lake served at the events' headquarters where meetings and initial species tallies were made.

I helped out by surveying birds in the village. We started the morning by walking the railroad bed along Lake Colby in Saranac Lake – with a number of SUNY-ESF students who are working at Huntington Forest in Newcomb this summer. It was a very warm day – which meant it was quiet for birds – but we found common loons, a bald eagle, and a variety of songbirds including a surprising savannah sparrow which must have been utilizing the bog mat along Old Lake Colby. Savannah sparrows are birds of open fields, and will sometimes be found in open bog mats as a result. We also heard a barred owl which answered my owl calls. I was calling to illicit scold calls of other forest birds to help us find them, and barred owls will often answer calls in daytime.

Then, after chatting with the survey team live-trapping small mammals and bumping into the herpetology (reptiles and amphibians) crew surveying the same location, we were off to hike Baker Mountain. It was getting warmer and quieter as we climbed to the top, but we still managed to find many expected species such as black-throated blue and black-throated green warblers, as well as a scarlet tanager. At the bottom of the mountain in Moody Pond, folks from The Wild Center in Tupper Lake surveyed amphibians, educating interested members of the public who came by to help. Another bird crew was surveying the Dewey Mountain ski trails while we hiked Baker, and among other things they found a broad-winged hawk nest with two fluffy chicks – one of the day's highlights.

When we returned to the library to hand in and tally our results, many of the plant and mushroom crews were already out in the field and many of us switched hats to lend a hand with another survey. The library was a hub of activity with teams of people going here and there to census various taxonomic groups of organisms, coming back to together to recount what they found and the day's adventures. It was an exciting bringing together of people of various skills, expertise, and interests – something a bioblitz thrives on. All told, about 670 species (a few more may be added as final tallies are made) were found in and around Saranac Lake over the two days, showing just how diverse this area is where we live and play.

Bullfrog Moody Pond
Employees from The Wild Center in Tupper Lake helped out with the bioblitz with surveys and educational programs. Here they hold a bullfrog they caught at Moody Pond.
This is part of the purpose of ATBI events like the bioblitz. They help researchers have a baseline of data for what species occur in a given area, and in turn help scientists understand future changes to those communities of species as a result. These events also help us gain an ever-growing appreciation for the Adirondacks and their natural wonders which we have the privilege of sharing. And that is an invaluable lesson for all of us.
ESF Students ATBI Lake Colby
Students from SUNY-ESF working for the summer in Newcomb helped survey a variety of species in and around Saranac Lake. Here they look for birds from the railroad tracks along Lake Colby.
Bullfrog Moody Pond
Employees from The Wild Center in Tupper Lake helped out with the bioblitz with surveys and educational programs. Here they hold a bullfrog they caught at Moody Pond.

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